


Bath Time

by fantasydreamer6



Category: Merlin - Fandom, Merthur - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-03
Updated: 2013-04-03
Packaged: 2017-12-07 10:03:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasydreamer6/pseuds/fantasydreamer6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Merlin pulls Arthur in the mud and needs to draw his king a bath</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bath Time

Swords clanged in the courtyard as Arthur and his knights practiced in the burning sun. Merlin stood by with extra weapons at the ready. The men were sweating and panting as the sun reached its highest point in the sky. 

Arthur ran past Merlin and grabbed a spear out of the servant’s hand, throwing a broken one in his direction. 

“You’re welcome,” Merlin grumbled under his breath. He shifted under the weight of the weapons and almost slipped in the mud. 

“Careful Merlin,” Gwaine called out while parrying a blow from Leon. 

Merlin smiled at Gwaine and found better footing on dryer ground. The courtyard was full of puddles of mud from the rain the previous day. Arthur had stood inside watching the rain with a scowl. It had prevented them from training and so he ordered a double session today. 

“Merlin! Get the target!” Arthur barked. Merlin groaned and dropped the weapons in his hands. He sprinted over to the target and picked it up clumsily. “We haven’t got all day, dollop head!” Arthur called.

“Who are you calling dollop head, clotpole?” Merlin snapped back, target in hand. 

“Well let’s see what this clotpole can do, shall we?” Arthur smirked. Merlin had just barely strapped the target on his back when he felt the thud of a spear burying itself into the wood. The knights laughed as Merlin tried to outrun the spears to no avail. After one particularly hard blow the motion carried him forward into a particularly big puddle of mud.

“I hate mud!” Merlin cried, spitting out plenty of it back on the ground. The knights hurried over to make sure Merlin was alright.

“Don’t we all,” Leon said.

“Well maybe if you weren’t such a clumsy oaf you wouldn’t have fallen in the mud,” Arthur said, folding his arms. 

Merlin knew he was going to regret this next move, but he did it anyway. He flipped on his back, shot up his hand and dragged Arthur into the mud by his elbow. Arthur yelped a very unkingly-like yelp and splattered mud everywhere as he fell.

“YOU,” Arthur sputtered. “YOU, IDIOT!” 

“Sorry,” Merlin grinned, not at all sorry.

“Go draw me a bath, now,” Arthur ordered, wiping the mud from his face.

“Sure sire,” Merlin said, biting back a laugh. He stood up somewhat unsteadily and wiped some more mud off his clothes, inadvertently getting more on the king. He turned and ran as fast as he could before Arthur could injure him. 

-

Merlin stood at the edge of the bathtub in Arthur’s chambers, frowning. He had lugged up the larger tub in order to pacify Arthur temporarily. Filling it had taken forever and the water was lukewarm at the best since it took so long to fill. After glancing around quickly, Merlin held his hand over the water and heated it to a better temperature. He folded his arms in satisfaction but shuddered as a droplet of muddy water traveled down his back. He hadn’t had time to change or wash up before preparing Arthur’s bath and he was extremely uncomfortable.

“Merlin!” Arthur hollered, coming into his chambers. “Is my bath ready yet?”

“Yes sire,” Merlin replied, stepping back from the tub. 

“Good,” Arthur said, coming closer. Merlin noticed that his hair was matted with dirt and his clothes were absolutely filthy. “Wow, you probably look worse than I do,” Arthur remarked as he started to remove his clothes. 

“I bet I carry mud better than you do,” Merlin replied. He dusted himself off and drew himself up as far as he would go, assuming an arrogant expression. Arthur burst out laughing and slid into the tub, the laughter subsiding into a relieved sigh. 

“How do you always get the water so perfect?” the king murmured, sinking as low as he could. 

“Lots of practice,” Merlin shrugged.

“Soap,” Arthur commanded. Merlin complied, handing Arthur the soap bar silently. He hung back and watched as Arthur scraped the grime off his body slowly. “Hey Merlin, could you come here for a minute?” Merlin approached cautiously and stood by the king’s side. “I need help getting the mud out of my hair.”

“Oh yes, hair mud can be very tricky,” Merlin said jokingly. He knelt down behind Arthur and took the bar of soap, lathering it between his hands thoroughly, before working his fingers through Arthur’s hair. Arthur groaned and leaned back into Merlin’s hands. 

“You aren’t completely incompetent it seems,” Arthur sighed. 

“You learn new things every day,” Merlin replied, giving Arthur’s hair a particularly hard yank. 

“Ow, what was that for?” Arthur groaned, bringing a hand up to his head. 

“Resistant piece of mud,” Merlin replied. 

“You could be a bit gentler you know.”

“Sorry, I’ll be less rough.”

Merlin continued to work through Arthur’s hair until the mud had disappeared. He moved around to face Arthur and make sure he didn’t miss any dirt. Arthur offered him a charming smile and Merlin couldn’t help but smile back. 

“You know, here I am all clean and you are a huge mess,” Arthur said thoughtfully. “That needs to be changed.”

“What are you talking about – oh!” Merlin exclaimed as Arthur pulled him into the tub with him. His clothes instantly soaked through and he sputtered through the droplets smacking against his face. “What was that for?!” Merlin shrieked angrily. 

“Payback for the mud, although your position is much better than mine,” Arthur replied smugly. 

“Ah, I see. You are definitely a clotpole,” Merlin frowned and splashed around helplessly. He was sitting in the king’s lap and it made him extremely uncomfortable. 

“But I am your clotpole,” Arthur replied mischievously. “Take off your clothes.”

“W-what?” Merlin faltered. He looked at the king’s face to see the playful glint in his eyes.

“Off, now,” he ordered. Merlin started pulling off his jacket and shirt. Arthur pulled his servant’s pants off as Merlin kicked his boots to the ground. 

In a few minutes Merlin was completely naked in the tub with Arthur. He looked up at Arthur’s face and couldn’t help but blush.

“Here, turn around so I can wash your mud-filled body,” Arthur said with a grin.

“I-I can’t…” Merlin stammered. He tried to twist his body but all he did was burrow himself further into Arthur’s lap. 

“You are completely helpless,” Arthur sighed. He gripped Merlin around his stomach firmly and lifted him up and around so that he was facing Arthur. 

“Thanks,” Merlin mumbled, looking down. 

“Here, lean forward,” Arthur said gently. Merlin complied silently and leaned into the king’s hands. Arthur lathered soap between his palms and entwined his fingers through Merlin’s hair. Merlin sighed softly; this felt better than he thought it would. “You like that?” Arthur asked.

“Yes,” Merlin sighed, forgetting everything else. 

“Just returning the favor.”

“Like pulling me into the tub in the first place?” Merlin asked. He was still miffed about it.

“Oh come on, you needed to get clean anyway,” Arthur chuckled.

“A warning would have been nice,” Merlin protested.

He fell silent again as Arthur moved down near the base of his neck, still scrubbing. Merlin leaned forward more and more until his forehead touched Arthur’s chest. 

“S-sorry,” Merlin mumbled, leaning back quickly.

“No, it’s okay,” Arthur insisted and pulled Merlin close again. They stayed that way for a couple minutes in silence until Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur. The king returned the gesture but continued to stroke Merlin’s hair softly. He reached his other hand around to Merlin’s chin and lifted it until their faces were level. Merlin stared into Arthur’s amazingly blue eyes and his breath caught in his throat. The ends of Arthur’s mouth curved up into a smile before he closed the gap and engulfed Merlin’s lips in his. 

The kiss was soft but quickly turned into something hotter and more passionate. All unsaid feelings between the two men were expressed through their mouths. Merlin pressed into Arthur achingly and wrapped his fingers into Arthur’s hair. The bathwater went from lukewarm to cold but the two men remained, not breaking the kiss, their hands roaming over each other’s bodies. Arthur opened his mouth slightly and moved his tongue slowly past Merlin’s lips. Merlin moaned into Arthur’s mouth and parted his lips as well. They explored each other’s mouths tentatively, tasting each other. 

The king withdrew his tongue and took Merlin’s lower lip between his and sucked gently, making Merlin moan louder. After a few moments Merlin pulled away with great difficulty. He was breathing heavily and it took him a second before he could speak coherently.

“What’s going on?” he gestured between them.

“What’s wrong with having a little fun?” Arthur replied, raising an eyebrow. 

“Is that all it is? Fun?” Merlin frowned. 

“Look…the waters cold. Let’s get out and talk about this when we are much less wet.”

Merlin’s frown deepened but he agreed. The two men stood up and Merlin handed Arthur a towel before getting one himself. Arthur ducked behind the changing wall to pull on new clothes as Merlin stared at his mud stained clothes. 

“Here,” Arthur’s voice came from behind the wall. Merlin turned around and caught a pair of trousers and a tunic in his arms, making him drop his towel. 

“Thank you,” he murmured, putting them on quickly. The tunic was a little baggy but he was much skinnier than Arthur. He picked up his towel off the floor and ran it over his hair a couple times. 

“Your hair is sticking up everywhere,” Arthur chuckled as he emerged fully clothed. Merlin immediately raised a hand to flatten it but Arthur stopped him. “It’s cute,” he whispered in his servant’s ear. He went to kiss Merlin’s cheek but was stopped.

“Can we finish our conversation?” Merlin asked. 

“Sure, I like you, you like me, what else is there to discuss?” Arthur replied. He pecked Merlin on the nose quickly before he could be stopped.

“Alright...” Merlin said quietly. “Well, I do like you, a lot.”

“I know, my dear clotpole,” Arthur grinned.

“Hey, that’s my word,” Merlin protested. 

“Fine, we can both be clotpoles,” Arthur jested. He wrapped his arms around Merlin and brought him in for another kiss. Merlin returned the kiss, leaving the bathtub and its cold water forgotten.


End file.
